Curriculum Philosophy and OverviewBaby's Space at Little Earth

Baby’s Space curriculum provides the opportunities for children of all ages to learn through discovery and play, form and maintain relationships, and express and regulate emotions, which we see as the cornerstones of school readiness. Daily experiences provide learning across all the developmental areas and provide a comprehensive approach to building cognitive, social, physical, language, and emotional skills. Our center uses a unified-theme approach that is customized for the developmental needs of each age group and provides a variety of experiences to nurture the whole child. Creative Curriculum® is a forward-thinking, comprehensive, rigorously researched curriculum approach that honors creativity and respects the role that teachers play in making learning exciting and relevant for every child. For more information Click Here.Teaching Strategies Gold® Assessment is a research-based ongoing observational system for assessing children from birth through kindergarten that can be used with any developmentally appropriate early childhood curriculum. Teaching Strategies Gold® is based on objectives that include predictors of school success and are aligned with the Common Core State Standards, state early learning guidelines, and the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework. These help teachers focus on what matters most for children’s success. Teaching Strategies Gold® can be used to support all types of learners, including children with special needs and children with advanced knowledge and skills. For more information Click Here.Baby’s Space Teacher Training Curriculum. We develop monthly theme-based training kits that support the implementation of Creative Curriculum. Teachers are guided through the hands-on process of building the kits while being trained, from the child’s point of view, on the importance of each component and its links to the concepts, goals, and objectives of Creative Curriculum. The finished kits give the teachers a balanced approach for implementing successful, consistent, predictable routines and activities for the children.SEEDS of School Readiness Emergent Literacy Program. The SEEDS model is an interactive, skills-focused curriculum based on current research in early childhood education, child development, emergent literacy, and effective teaching. For more information Click Here.Minnesota Reading Corps is an AmeriCorps program that provides trained literacy tutors for children age three to grade three. Baby’s Space has a Minnesota Reading Corps member in our PreK classroom to support children’s success in reading. For more information Click Here.Reading Corps Assessment. Data is collected using IGDIs (Individual Growth and Development Indicators), tracking preschoolers’ literacy development using letter naming, alliteration, and picture naming.Responsive Classroom is a general approach to teaching, rather than a program designed to address a specific school issue. It is based on the premise that children learn best when they have both academic and social-emotional skills. Based on the work of many great teachers and educators, the approach consists of a set of practices that build academic and social-emotional competencies that can be used along with many other programs. For more information Click Here.Learning Spaces Environments are designed from the child’s point of view, and give teachers and caregivers opportunities to engage with children. Curriculum is embedded in the purposefully designed and built spaces, and allows teachers and caregivers to track the growth and development of each child as they use and explore their surroundings.